"Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath"

I must admit, however frustrated I may be, that my dearly departed father was a very wise man. Who else could have devised such an interesting riddle to weed out unworthy suitors? As difficult as it has been, I do understand my father’s motives.

The Prince of Morocco tried to open the golden casket. Who would want something that every man desired? I don’t want to be a shiny trinket for my husband to put out on display. I am not some object to be polished, shown off, and then horded away!

The Prince of Aragon wasn’t much better – he chose the silver casket. He thought that that he DESERVED me? What a pompous little fiend! I could never imagine myself wed to such an egotistical, self-centered man.

The other suitors are not much better. All of them have terrible faults that I can not look past. But, because of these faults, I know that none of them will ever choose the correct casket – the lead one. None of them have the brains to figure out the riddle! The only man who is worthy of me must be willing to “give and hazard all he hath” – my father was truly a scholar! Hahaha! The one man who is willing to give up all he has to wed me only proves the deep affection he feels for me. That is the man I wish to marry. But for now, I have to pray that one of these idiots will not stumble onto the correct answer. I can only shudder to imagine what my life would be like married to one of these spoiled brats!